International Scientists Collaborate

On a month-long voyage in 2015 an international team of scientists from Angola, Namibia, Norway, South Africa, Spain, the United States of America and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) explored five seamounts of the high seas of the Southeast Atlantic on the RV Dr Fridtjof Nansen.

Led by principal scientist and corresponding author, Odd Aksel Bergstad (63) of the Institute of Marine Research, Norway, the team mapped bathymetry and described biological communities on and near the seabed using best available hydroacoustics instruments and a towed video camera vehicle.

The research resulted in two multi-authored papers being published in African Journal of Marine Science, Volume 41, Issue 1. 

“The effort provided significant new understanding and knowledge on several remote but fascinating ecosystems. Some of the selected seamounts are fishing areas and some are closed to fishing to protect particularly vulnerable ecosystems,” noted Bergstad.

The study, supported by FAO, benefits the  Southeast Atlantic Fisheries Organization (SEAFO), a regional fisheries management organisation based in Swakopmund, Namibia.

This multinational project represents an important contribution to research on understudied seamounts in waters adjacent to the African continent, and African Journal of Marine Science is pleased to be the vehicle used for the dissemination of the knowledge that was generated. 

You can find the two relevant papers at the respective links: 

Bathymetry, substrate and fishing areas of Southeast Atlantic high-seas seamounts

Megabenthos and benthopelagic fishes on Southeast Atlantic seamounts

Image: Bergstad is pictured (#5 from right) with the international scientific team on the 2015 cruise during which the data for the two papers were collected.